Trump vs. Ryan (again): How we got here

If Donald Trump wins in November, his most powerful Republican ally in Washington will be House Speaker Paul Ryan -- at least, that's the plan.

But on Tuesday the program again went off course, as the Republican nominee seemed to upend a fragile GOP détente by revealing he would not endorse Ryan -- or Arizona Sen. John McCain -- in their coming primary contests.

"I like Paul, but these are horrible times for our country," Trump told The Washington Post. "We need very strong leadership. We need very, very strong leadership. And I'm just not quite there yet. I'm not quite there yet."

Sound familiar? It should. Back in May, Ryan when asked by CNN's Jake Tapper if he was prepared to formally back Trump, said: "I'm not there right now."

Now, a little more than three months from Election Day, the two heaviest hitters in the Republican Party are at another crossroads.

Here's a look back at their long, strange trip.

 

 

Ryan and Scott Walker

Months before Trump descended his gilded escalator into the primary muck, Ryan was talking up his fellow Wisconsinite, Gov. Scott Walker, as an early favorite to win the 2016 nomination.

"Scott's a good friend of mine," Ryan said. "I think he's got a really good chance and I look forward to seeing how it goes for him."

It didn't go far. Like so many other would-be Republican contenders, Walker's campaign was quickly derailed by the Trump train.

Walker left the race in September 2015 with this message: "I encourage other Republican presidential candidates to consider doing the same so that the voters can focus on a limited number of candidates who can offer a positive, conservative alternative to the current front-runner" -- a reference to Trump.

The Muslim ban and David Duke

On December 7, just hours after a poll showed Ted Cruz leap-frogging Trump in Iowa, the businessman put out a surprise statement "calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on."

Ryan condemned the proposal less than 24 hours later during a news conference on Capitol Hill.

"This is not conservatism," he said. "Some of our best and biggest allies in this struggle and fight against radical Islam terror are Muslims."

The criticism did little to hurt Trump with voters.

And in late February, days before Super Tuesday, he again raised eyebrows by refusing to disavow former KKK leader David Duke during a Sunday interview with Tapper.

That Tuesday -- primary day -- Ryan brushed back Trump again, saying: "If a person wants to be the nominee of the Republican Party, there can be no evasion and no games. They must reject any group or cause that is built on bigotry."

"I hope," he added, "this is the last time I need to speak out on this race."

Ryan's speech

Three weeks later, on the day after Trump scored a major winner-take-all victory in Arizona, Ryan delivered what his office called a speech "on the state of American politics."

Ryan's remarks were mostly read as a thinly veiled rebuke of Trump.

"Looking around at what's taking place in politics today, it is easy to get disheartened," he said. "How many of you find yourself just shaking your head at what you see from both sides?"

The Wisconsin primary was less than two weeks away.

Trump goes to Wisconsin

The front-runner landed in the Badger State and immediately proceeded to rip Walker, still popular there despite his weak turn on the national stage -- and a Ryan ally.

"Your governor came out, he was expected to win and we sent him packing like a little boy," Trump said during an interview with radio host Michael Koolidge, after Walker backed his rival, Ted Cruz.

Trump kept up the attacks on Walker during a campaign stop in Janesville, Ryan's hometown -- a decision one Republican strategist in the state told CNN was like "(poking) Ryan in the eye."

 

Credit : CNN